Zutara Week 2015
by maggie230173
Summary: Zuko and Katara both lead double lives hidden from each other. A continuous story reflecting the prompts for Zutara Week 2015. I know its choppy, but I plan on re-writing it to iron it out sometime in the future.
1. Happenstance

The world was silent as Katara crept through the corridor. She'd made it this far without a sound and didn't expect anything less of herself. She prided herself on her stealth capabilities to swiftly and confidently get the job done. On this night, though, a touch of paranoia lingered at the back of her mind. She technically wasn't supposed to be using her skills for this. Actually her superiors didn't have a clue that their resources were being used on this mission. The dangers associated with this disobedience made her nervous, but she was determined not to fail.

Coming up on the door marked 218, Katara bent to pick the lock. It took no longer than 10 seconds, as expected when she heard the satisfying click of the now unlocked door. Katara startled at a shiver down her spine. She thought she had seen something in the corner of her eye, a shadow of sorts. With a frustrated sigh, she rolled her eyes at her own paranoia. She knew better not to be jumpy, but going against her superiors put her nerves on edge.

Katara entered the room silently, spotting the computer she was here to hack. She chanced a sigh of relief. _You're almost done, Katara._ She closed the door behind her, letting it lock as she made her way around the desk to face the computer.

Hacking the computer wasn't an issue. She was past the firewalls within minutes. Sweat beaded on her forehead. For the second time that night Katara startled. A shadow had definitely passed the door.

Finishing her business, she hurriedly closed all of the programs and silently plead with the machine to shut down faster. Finally, it was done. Climbing onto the desk, she removed a ceiling tile.

A clicking noise from the door made her freeze. Her heart hammered in her chest. Someone else was trying to get in here. At this time of night? Ugh, people!

Just as the door clicked unlocked, Katara pulled herself through the ceiling. She could only hope that the intruder hadn't seen, or heard, the ceiling tile slipping back into place. As careful as she could, Katara navigated the ceiling area, careful to balance her weight on the support beams that held the ceiling grid up. As she maneuvered, she silently thanked the spirits for being so small.

According to the blueprints she had, she was now over the room next to her. Katara carefully removed the tile and let herself drop onto the floor below. Behind her, there was a window, just as she expected. And just outside that window was a marvelous oak tree. The window didn't open far, but it was enough. Katara squeezed herself through and shimmied down the tree the all the training of a government spy. Reaching the ground, she took off at a sprint to get off the property as fast as she could before the shadow realized he wasn't alone.

Mission complete.

`~.~_-_~.~'

"I don't believe it! Not one class?" Mai's usually composed face wore an expression of frustration as she observed her class schedule.

Ty Lee peered over her shoulder, as bubbly as ever. "Oh, that's too bad. I have like three classes with Zuko!" At Mai's glare, she backed off. It was a miracle these two were even friends with how vastly different their personalities were.

"But we signed up for our classes together!" she growled. Then, spotting Zuko down the hall, she said, "There's the traitor."

Ty Lee looked until she spotted him. "Zuko! Over here!"

"Hey," he said conversationally.

"Don't 'hey' me. What's the deal?" Mai slammed her schedule against his chest and he winced.

"What's wrong with you?" He took the paper and looked at it. Having just read his own schedule, he realized why she was upset. "Oh. You know they don't always give you what you sign up for, right?"

Mai seethed. "Whatever." She crossed her arms and walked away.

"Oh, you're in for it now Zuko." Ty Lee said in the happiest way possible. What was with this girl? She must be on something to be so happy all the time. Ty Lee turned on her heal and followed after Mai.

Nearby at her locker, Katara eavesdropped letting herself feel smug.

Zuko ran a hand through his hair, bewildered by his little sister's friend's behavior. He backtracked down the hall to get to his locker. He smiled when noticed who his locker neighbor was.

"Hey Katara." He effortlessly opened the lock and swung the locker open.

"Oh Zuko! Hey. How was your holiday?" Katara had just finished up at her locker, but decided to re-arrange her newly placed text books. The layout wasn't working for her, she decided.

"It was boring." He said, thinking back to the long days of training in an underground camp. "And mildly productive, you might say. And yours?"

"Oh, nothing special," she lied. Top secret government meetings were a hassle and lately she was beginning to wonder if she was on the right side. "What was that all about?" she asked, gesturing to the empty space where Mai and Ty Lee had previously been.

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't know. Lately Mai has been acting… weird."

Katara nodded her head supportively. "What do you think it is?"

"Maybe she's feeling left out or something. I don't know. She was upset because we didn't have any classes together this semester."

Katara beamed, proud of herself. She was glad Zuko wasn't looking at her face because her entire demeanor was completely inappropriate for how the conversation was going. "Huh, that's odd," she said conversationally. Zuko closed his locker and looked at her.

"Yeah. We did sign up for our classes at the same time though. I wonder how it worked out that way." The tone of his voice seemed to imply that Katara knew something about it.

"I don't know." There was no way Zuko could know about her secret. He had been acting suspicious of her towards the end of last semester, but she was certain he didn't know or else he wouldn't be so pleasant to her.

"Oh speaking of schedules, what's yours look like?" Zuko asked.

She pulled her schedule from the folder she had just pulled out of her locker to put into her binder and held it next to Zuko's for comparison. She was surprised to find that they were on the exact same schedule. Suspicion sparked in her mind like a red flag. "Wow, we have the same schedule."

"Oh do we?" He didn't sound surprised at all. "Strange coincidence."

"Strange coincidence indeed," she muttered as the bell rang, signaling everyone to homeroom.

Katara closed her locker. Their eyes met in a moment of uncertainty.

"After you." Zuko held his hands out to the side.

Katara bit her lip, eyebrows furrowed, as she contemplated his gesture. Making a decision, she smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes. "Well thank you."

They walked to homeroom without another word.


	2. Vigil

She didn't want to be suspicious of him. But now that suspicion made itself known, it wasn't so easily dismissed. It wasn't for a lack of trying, that's for sure. Katara's unwanted suspicion was putting her in a state of denial that she wasn't soon to address.

The two appeared to be growing closer. It was a friendship that neither of them had intended it to be. Romantic feelings had always been involved. It started out as study groups, while she lingered just a bit after everyone else left. They were partnered together on group projects. Soon they were going on dates. Sorry, they called them "friendly social outings".

They continued their individual missions, ignorant of the other's involvement. The sad truth was that they were working against each other. She was a top secret government spy in the governments youth division while he was working for the highly organized secret rebellion. Still, both still managed to hide their double lives while finding a way to be around each other more and more.

Though they did appear to be closer, they both still had their secrets. Neither of them wanted to acknowledge that something was coming between them. Of course, how could they address it without revealing crucial information that could jeopardize either of their missions? The answer: they couldn't. Soon the closeness that they had wasn't enough. Both longed for a deeper intimacy that neither of them were capable of providing without being compromised. After all, how could you talk about a future that you weren't sure you were allowed to have?

Two months into the semester, Katara cracked. Her denial wouldn't hold back the suspicion any longer. She started following him. She bugged his house, his car, and his phone. The risk was too high for her to be using government resources so she stuck with her own devices. She was a reconnaissance expert after all and hacker extraordinaire. She just hoped that she was paranoid.

Unfortunately, she wasn't. He would be gone for unexplained periods of time during the night when he wasn't at home being a normal teenager. Following him hadn't worked. Somehow he lost her every time, as if he knew he was being followed.

Little did she know he was following her too. It became a rift. Everything unsaid between them only caused the rift to grow wider. When they got into a confrontation, it led to a messy argument. That ended in a broken friendship. And broken hearts.

Now they put up with each other. What choice do they have?

Zuko started hanging around more with his little sister and her friends. A bitter jealousy sparked in Katara and so she started hanging around with one of her brother's friends, who she knew he had a rivalry with.

And this is where our story begins.


	3. Clandestine

Katara wouldn't admit to being bitterly jealous, not even to herself. So she hid behind expectations. She looked at Jet, sitting beside her. He had his arms draped over her shoulders. She convinced herself she was happy with this. It was easier than she thought it would be to play pretend. Pretending was in her job description, actually, so she couldn't be too surprised. Sokka was happy with her decision at least.

"What did you think about it, Katara?" Three pairs of eyes were on her. Sokka, Jet, and Suki. They were all hanging out at the local tea shop, as per usual.

"Oh, it um. It was great." Katara flushed. "What were we talking about again?"

"Dinosaurs landing on the moon," said Sokka sarcastically. "Jeez Katara you should pay more attention to your friends. It's a miracle we still hang out with you."

"Oh shut up." Katara kicked his leg under the table. "I was just thinking about that party that Ty Lee is throwing on Saturday. Are we going?"

"Well, duh." Jet smirked. "It would be a good time to get to know the competition. I hear the dirt munchers are going to be there." He shrugged. "Some of them anyway." Katara rolled her eyes at the crude nickname for the opposing team, the Badgers.

"Those moles think they're something else. I don't think we should waste our time on them." Sokka leaned back in his chair with one elbow resting on the back.

"I think it would be fun!" Suki chimed in. "I heard it's supposed to be a costume party and I had this really great idea to…" Katara was glad that the conversation was off her again and she happily listened to her friend prattle on about outfits and shoes. Personally, she wasn't sure she wanted to go. Her mission didn't have her away that night, but she almost wished it did. She sighed. She was so close to a breakthrough with intel on the rebellion. A party would help her unwind a bit. It would probably be good for her even. Okay she'd go, she decided.

"Suki, can you help me pick out something to wear? I can never decide on anything." Suki's eyes brightened.

"Yes! Oh lets go shopping! I have the perfect idea for what you should go as!" Suki's enthusiasm rolled off her in waves. "It's going to be perfect!"

Katara rolled her eyes. What was she going to do with her friend? "Let's go tomorrow after school. I've got some homework to catch up on tonight." She stood and gathered her drink and bag.

Jet scowled. "You always have homework to do." He grabbed Katara's wrist. "What's say you and I go somewhere to… talk?" His voice lowered at the last word suggestively. Katara tugged her wrist away and inwardly cringed. Jet had his charms, but he also had his sleaze.

Sokka hit him in the arm with the back of his hand. "Dude!"

Katara smile. "Sorry, but it's really important that I get this done. It's due tomorrow and Mr. Sozin never accepts late work." The lie came naturally. Though maybe it wasn't a complete lie. There really was an assignment due tomorrow. It was just already finished and ready to turn in. She needed a break from Jet and this was the perfect opportunity. "Bye guys!" Katara waved and then made her exit, breathing a sigh of relief.

`~.~_-_~.~'

Watching this video stream was starting to get old. Zuko has been sitting on his bed reading comics for the past three hours and Katara wasn't sure she could watch any more. Time for a break. Discarding her iPad on the bed beside her, she scanned her room, eyes landing on a small black bag. It was the makeup Suki had leant Katara and so far, she hadn't touched it. Katara didn't usually wear much makeup. Just some eyeliner and a touch of mascara. A natural look was what she was going for.

Thinking of the party on Saturday, a nudge pulled through her mind. She didn't want to just look natural for the party. She wanted to be breath-taking. If she was being honest with herself, she also wanted to look good in case Zuko showed up. There was nothing worse than letting your ex, if she could even call him that, see you all frumpy in the middle of a bunch of glamorous people. And they would be glamorous if Ty Lee had anything to do with it.

Snatching the bag off the desk chair, Katara went into the bathroom. She had to go back for her iPad to look up instructions on how to actually apply the makeup.

Fifteen minutes later and Katara was as frustrated as ever. Makeup had been applied, washed off and reapplied so many times, she worried her face was being rubbed raw. Scowling at the impossible beauty supplies, she gave up for the night. She would try again in the morning after her skin recovered from the abuse. Relieved to be done with it for the night, and a little embarrassed to be in such a frivolous thought process, Katara decided to check in on the subject.

She unlocked the iPad just in time to see him walking out of his room. Just the opportunity she'd been waiting on. There was no doubt that he was going out, especially dressed like that. Quickly and swiftly, Katara threw on some comfortable spy clothes, special Government Issue. Finally something that made her feel sane. Something that would make the world make sense again. She exited through the window to avoid any family loitering downstairs. This was the night Katara would either prove or disprove Zuko's innocence. Either way, she wouldn't leave anything to chance.


End file.
